The invention is a device for applying liquid such as a cleaning or conditioning liquid to a vehicle tire, to improve its appearance or to condition or protect its surface against weather, or road dirt.
In the car wash and car detailing industry, and in home use by consumers, it is important to clean the vehicle""s tires to improve their appearance by adding shine, or to coat the tires with a liquid which conditions the tire rubber or protects it from road dirt by repelling dirt or water, or from light, air pollution, or petroleum products on the road. This art includes various liquids which may be applied to the tires for this purpose, and various applicators have been tried for applying the liquid. Applicator devices in the art have numerous drawbacks and limited flexibility, and some take an unreasonable amount of time, in many cases 500% longer, to use. Fast liquid application is needed by car washes in order to increase the number of cars that can be processed per hour. Being not ergonomically friendly for human hands and arms, existing applicators tire the arm and shoulders of the operator, and require more effort to cover all tire sidewall surfaces. Existing applicators result in the liquid or gel getting on the operator""s hands, and waste the liquid or gel for that reason and because the liquid or gel leaks off the applicator. Existing applicators do not easily provide even coating of the liquid or gel on the tire, and they do not have a removable pad for replacement or cleaning. With most existing applicators, the liquid must be sprayed on the tire before using the applicator, thus contaminating the clean car in a windy environment. Most existing applicators are small and must be moved around the tire several times to cover all the tire surface, and some require several minutes for the liquid to soak into the applicator before use. Existing sponge-based applicators wear out with only 12-16 uses and must be discarded
U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,616 to C. F. Large, Apr. 27, 1999, discloses an applicator for spreading a liquid onto the sidewall of a tire. It is constructed of a curved porous material with a gripping handle. The drawback of this device is that it requires some time to move the applicator over the curved tire, and the operator using the device must change his or her grip as the applicator moves around the tire. The porous material easily wears away or becomes dirty and is not replaceable. When dry, the applicator has to be dipped in the liquid again. U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,583 to R. L. Waddell, Apr. 12, 2000, discloses a tire brush fitted with a hose and pressurized container of liquid. This device is complicated, expensive to make, and requires time to reload liquid in the liquid container and reconnect the hose.
The present invention is a simple and innovative device for very rapidly applying liquids or gels to tires. The curved surface of the device conforms to the tire""s shape. It also includes a handle for easily and securely gripping the device without having to change grips as the device moves around the entire circumference of the tire. The inside curved surface of the device has an absorbent pad of sufficient porosity for holding enough liquid or gel to treat the tire, while not holding excess liquid which would be squeezed out and lost when the device is applied to the tire. The liquid holding absorbent pad may be made removable for cleaning and replacement when worn. The invention may also include a holder for the curved plate, where the holder is a rectangular or oval shaped box with a curved sponge or pad saturated with the liquid to be applied.
The objects and advantages of the present invention are:
1. The device is easy and cheap to manufacture.
2. The device provides secure gripping for the operator using it, without contact between the liquid or gel and the hands of the operator, thus preventing contamination of car cleaning towels and the car itself
3. The device can be very rapidly applied to the whole tire by means of one quick rotational motion of the operator""s hand around the circumference of the tire without changing grip.
4. The device fits the contour of the tire, and the curve of the device is such that good contact with the tire by the liquid containing pad is assured; the flexible and compressible thickness of the pad also contributes to the uniform contact with the tire.
5. The pad can be easily replaced when worn or dirty, and is cheap to replace. The pad can be an existing paint pad or bristle pad, known to those skilled in the art,
6. The pad, unlike a sponge, will hold an appropriate amount of liquid without wasting liquid, as is the case when too much pressure is applied to a tire by a device containing a sponge. There is no waste of liquid as with other devices which may sling liquid onto the clean surface of the washed car.
7. The curve of the device insures contact by the pad with the entire sidewall surface of the tire, from the tire rim to the portion of the tire in contact with the pavement.
8. The handle is attached to the curved plate so that it can swivel as the operator""s hand rotates around the tire, so that it is less tiring to the arms and hands of the operator.
9. The swiveling handle can contain a reservoir for the liquid being applied, thus saving time in reloading the device with more liquid or gel. Use of clear plastic for the handle will enable the operator to see the level of remaining liquid in the reservoir.
10. Because the device swivels and is curved to contact the entire tire surface, the liquid can be applied very quickly and uniformly with one quick rotation of the operator""s hand around the circumference of the tire.
11. The handle shape is adapted for use by operators of varying hand size.
12. The pad can be switched to a coarser pad for use in cleaning the tire or whitewalls of the tire.
13. The holder for the device prevents the pad on the curved base plate and the pad in the holder from drying out when the curved base plate is kept in the holder.
14. The pad, not being a sponge as in other applicators, will not absorb water from a wet tire and thus dilute the liquid or gel, thus resulting in an inferior looking tire.
Still further objects and advantages will become evident from the detailed description of the invention, and the drawings.